


this is the place where I don't feel alone

by petrichor (findingkairos)



Series: gentle beating of mighty wings [4]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Chrome learns to become even more of a badass, Gen, What Happened In Those Six Months, that's what happened, the Lal Mirch and Reborn Training Camp from Hell, the kids have actually Emotionally Vulnerable Conversations, they're also in the modern age so expect more text conversations than there are in the main fic, you don't need to read Seiryu to enjoy this one either
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-26
Packaged: 2019-05-16 19:04:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14817111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/findingkairos/pseuds/petrichor
Summary: It’s just six months. (It’s the best six months of Chrome’s life.)Or, Chrome learns to Kick Ass and Take Names: a story over six parts.





	1. April

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "To Build a Home" by The Cinematic Orchestra.
> 
> This covers the six month timeskip between chapter 18 and chapter 19 of Seiryu, but as long as you keep in mind four things due to the canon divergence, it also works well as a standalone. Those four things are:
> 
> 1\. Dokuro Chrome is the (only) Vongola Tenth Mist Guardian, and she is constantly fighting Rokudo Mukuro for the spot.  
> 2\. She was never saved by Rokudo Mukuro in that hospital; instead, she had her organs regrown by a mix of Sun, Rain, and Sky Dying Will Flames courtesy of Tsuna et. al.  
> 3\. Lal Mirch left CEDEF and is now training the Vongola Tenth Generation. She has Mist and Cloud Flames. Chrome has Mist Flames, and the Mist Arcobaleno is unavailable.  
> 4\. Women stick together.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chrome texts some people and buys a birthday present.

In all honesty, she’d expected it to be harder.

It’s not that Chrome hadn’t expected the odd looks, the laughter behind hands. She’s the girl with the purple hair and pale skin in the middle of quiet Namimori. She’s the one who’s the transfer student coming from nowhere.

She’s the one who’s listed as a cousin to Takei Eri, and the one that Kyoko-san and Hana-san drag into their small group.

“Don’t worry about them,” Hana-san hisses to her on the first day, setting down her lunch with a loud clatter. “They’ll stop eventually.”

Classmates who are pretending not to eavesdrop wince, just a little bit. Kyoko-san’s flitting around the room laughing, gossiping, but when Chrome catches her eye she winks for a split second before returning to her conversation.

“That’s if Kyoko doesn’t get there first,” Hana-san admits dryly. There’s a twitch to her lips that doesn’t have a name but that Chrome thinks there will be, once it grows up to be old enough.

She wants to say _Thank you_. She wants to say _You don’t have to_. But Hana-san’s eyes are stern, and Chrome _is_ going to thank her and Kyoko-san, she _is_ -

There’s a ruckus in the hallway that spills over into the classroom when Tsuna-kun and Takeshi-kun literally trip over the doorway, and suddenly those two and a shouting Gokudera-san are the center of attention. Hana-san turns away to yell back at the two boys, and Chrome releases a breath she hadn’t known she’d held, and unlaces her fingers from each other, one by one by one.

Later, once the novelty of being a new student has worn off, she’ll sit down with Kyoko-san and Hana-san for a Cake Appreciation Day and nod along in all the right places when the former complains about boys and the latter talks about how stupid Tsuna-kun is being. Later, she’ll sit with Tsuna-kun herself and talk to him about classwork, about hobbies, about anything else other than the fact that sits heavily on her shoulders and the reason that Lal-san takes her aside to train.

Later, she’ll sit with Eri and go over homework - easier than the material that she’s been homeschooled on, for the last half-year - and talk about Eri’s university applications - _annoying_ is all she says about it, and Chrome will nod along and keep her suspicions behind her teeth - and practice drills in sparking the Mist that she’s going to need.

But for now, Chrome leans back in her seat and allows herself to feel the warmth of the sun through the window.

* * *

This time last year, Chrome would have had an empty calendar: a platitude that her mother would have bought her, in an effort to make everything seem _normal_. It would have been something feminine and bought at the local supermarket for cheap.

Now, Chrome has a calendar that’s filled with dates circled and names marked out inside those tiny little boxes: 20 April, Kurokawa Hana. 29 April, Takei Eri. 05 May, Hibari Kyouya. The list goes on, for Tsuna-kun and the Yamamoto siblings, for Gokudera and his sister, for the Sasagawa household.

It means that when Kyoko-san texts her one sunny afternoon, she’s not caught off guard.

> [11:52] Kyoko-san: hana doesn’t like to throw large birthday parties  
>  [11:52] Kyoko-san: this year won’t be any different  
>  [11:53] Kyoko-san: she likes to receive small presents, though

Chrome looks up from her phone, glancing across the table to Hana-san. She’s sitting behind Kyoko-san’s shoulder, eyes downcast towards her book, though the tilt of her shoulders means that she’s still listening in on whatever conversation that Tsuna-kun next to her is holding with Gokudera-san.

> [11:54] Me: Will everyone be getting her small gifts? And what defines a small gift?

It’s a tactless question, borderline rude in a way that sets Chrome’s teeth on edge, but one that she feels that needs to be asked. Hana-san has been good to her; Chrome doesn’t want her to have anything less than what she deserves for her birthday, not after the first real one that she and Kyoko-san and Tsuna-kun and Eri and Keiko-san and everyone else had thrown her four months ago, on her own birthday.

Thankfully, Kyoko-san takes the opportunity of cleaning up lunch to text back:

> [12:07] Kyoko-san: all the guys will, plus some of the senpais, I think  
>  [12:08] Kyoko-san: and anything that can fit into her bookbag will work

Chrome doesn’t ask why it needs to be able to fit into Hana-san’s bookbag; she’s heard Satomi-san’s muttering. She’s seen Eri’s white-knuckled grip. Chrome breathes in and pushes her biological mother from her mind.

> [12:09] Kyoko-san: if you want to run ideas past me just let me know

And, just like that, Chrome can breathe out easily again.

> [12:10] Me: That would be appreciated.

The bell rings to signal the end of lunch, but once everyone’s seated and the class quiets for the next teacher to lecture, there’s one final message:

> [12:14] Kyoko-san: :)

* * *

Like Kyoko-san had mentioned, it’s a quiet affair. It’s less of a birthday party and more of a birthday dinner, where everyone involved brings in a dish and a small gift that they stuff into a backpack that Kyoko has brought.

It reminds Chrome of her own birthday party, which is odd, because it’s not like she or Hana-san are the only ones who don’t have parents involved in the birthday party. But Kyoko-san and Sasagawa-senpai hold Hana-san’s birthday party at their house, and Hana-san doesn’t go back home after it’s all over, and Eri only sighs at the end of the night before she moves to leave.

“It’s complicated,” Eri says when they’re sitting back at home, the television on but its sound reduced to a dull murmur as Chrome works on her homework in the living room. “And it’s not entirely my story to tell, anyway.” 

Chrome pauses, then continues filling out the worksheet for math. “Do you think she’ll tell me someday?” 

“Maybe.” There’s another string of clicks as Eri works briskly away on her laptop, her own papers scattered about her. “Oh, Lal wanted me to tell you - your training starts this weekend. She recommended that you bring at least three water bottles. You can use the ones from under the cupboard - I think you know the one.” 

It’s not phrased as a question, but Chrome nods anyway, and reaches for her phone to put in the training session into her calendar. It’s a riot of colors now: orange for appointments, green for birthdays, purple for reminders. There’s a few red sprinkled throughout, for things that are tentatively set. Which reminds her - “Kyoko-san invited me to something she called ‘Cake Appreciation Day’ next week. Do you know what that is?” 

The clicking of the keyboard keys stutters. Chrome glances up in time to see Eri blinking at her owlishly from behind her glasses. Then the corners of her lip twitch and twist and pull, threatening to go upwards. 

Oh, Chrome is ready for this. She continues on, deliberately keeping her voice light and questioning: “She also warned me not to eat anything before coming, and to skip breakfast if I can. What’s that for?” 

To her credit, Eri lasts for a few seconds more before she gives up and lets the smile take over her face. Chrome feels pride in that before she remembers that there’s a reason that she’d asked her question, and carefully doesn’t huff. “Eri?” 

“It’s something that you need to experience in order to fully appreciate,” Eri says blandly back, turning her attention back to her laptop. She’s still smiling. “You’ll enjoy it, don’t worry.” 

Of all the things that Chrome trusts in the world, Eri is high on the list. Still, she makes sure to stare at her cousin for a few long minutes before she hesitantly changes the red event on her phone to blue.

* * *

She enjoys both the training session with Lal-san and the Cake Appreciation Day with Kyoko-san and Hana-san, but in different ways. The former makes her blood sing and the world go tilting in fun ways and pull her to the limits of her creativity, of her ingenuity, and above all else it’s _fun_. 

The latter is an exercise of making sure she doesn’t over eat, with how many delicious cake slices that Kyoko-san offers for her to sample, and keeping up with Hana-san’s dry wit and commentary of how Kyoko-san will regret the forty two different cake slices later that night. 

But somehow, after the third Cake Appreciation Day that Chrome sits down for with those two girls and the second time that Chrome manages to banter with Hana-san over Kyoko-san’s head on the cafe table, she gets a text. 

It’s always Kyoko-san that shows up on Chrome’s cell phone notifications, asking after homework or the boys - Hana-san only refers to Tsuna-kun and the rest of the Guardians as such instead of anything else and it’s rubbing off - or what Chrome’s doing on the weekend, so that’s who she expects. But this time when she checks, it’s not Kyoko-san’s beaming face that greets her. It’s Hana-san’s favorite mug full of tea.

> [14:22] Hana-san: Any chance that I can get in on your training with Mirch-san?

Chrome needs to blink at it for a solid twenty seconds before she can move herself to reply. Lal-san would have compatible enough Flames for her to teach Hana-san, if that’s what the latter is asking, but- 

> [14:23] Me: You could come with me tomorrow and ask?  
>  [14:23] Me: I don’t think she’ll mind, but it might be best for you to ask yourself.

Chrome only realizes how passive aggressive her last text sounds after she sends it, and the sudden thought and anxiety makes her fingers stutter over her keyboard. Thankfully, Hana-san texts back before she can worry herself over it too much. 

> [14:24] Hana-san: You’re right, she’s that sort of straightforward person.  
>  [14:24] Hana-san: I’ll meet you at your house and we can walk to Yamamoto’s together. That’s where you’re training, right?

She breathes out, then, and if she smiles a little, then there’s no one around right now to see. 

> [14:25] Me: Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow!

Hana just sends back a thumbs-up emoji in response.


	2. May

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Chrome discusses names, gets invited into a group chat, fights a boy, and tries out some witty banter.

“You’re named after chromium, right?”

It’s a question out of left field, but Chrome ducks under Lal-san’s jab and skids back, watching her mentor’s waist for where she’ll move next. “I – uh – think so?” When Keiko-san and Eri had suggested the name she’d been all too happy to accept it, thankful for the new beginning away from the little girl who’d first been admitted to the hospital.

Now that she’s thinking of it, she should probably ask where Keiko-san had gotten ‘Chrome’ and ‘Dokuro’ from–

Chrome barely manages to redirect Lal-san’s kick to somewhere other than her kidneys, but the almost-flailing awkward movement means that her side is left exposed. Lal-san doesn’t hesitate to drive her fist into Chrome’s lower gut.

“It’s a good metal,” Lal-san is saying when Chrome can hear her again over the sound of her own wheezing. She’d started sparring with Hana-san while waiting for Chrome to catch her breath, the both of them without weapons during their hand-to-hand training, but Hana-san keeps shooting Chrome worried glances and it’s during those moments of inattention that Lal-san keeps winding Cloud Flames around her punches and kicks. “Colorful. Has a high melting point. It’s a hard and brittle metal, too.”

“How can it be both?” Hana-san grunts, before she gets tricked by the Propagated decoy punches and gets kicked in the stomach hard enough for her to go down coughing. Lal-san lets up then, sliding her feet back into first position before she bounces into a more relaxed stance.

“Hardness is the resistance to a set of identifying tests,” Lal-san says. She doesn’t even sound winded. Chrome feels a surge of awe over the deep bruise pain that she knows she’s going to feel through to the end of the week. “Brittleness is how it reacts to stress.”

“So Chrome is easily identifiable, but brittle.” There’s something in Hana-san’s voice that makes Chrome think she’s… not unhappy. More disbelieving, maybe, or disapproving.

But Lal-san shakes her head, just the once. “It’s also valued highly for its high corrosion resistance. There’s more to many things than what first meets the eye.”

She says the last while staring at Chrome - or at least, she thinks that Lal-san is staring at her, and she’d be certain of it if Lal-san hadn’t been wearing her red visor. As it is, Chrome keeps her eyes on the grass, on the back of the Yamamoto’s house, on the sky. Anywhere but at Lal-san.

“You’re right,” Hana-san says a little after, and her voice is quiet. Chrome looks over to her, but Hana-san is getting up already, and she’s tilting her head in respect to Lal-san. “What next, Mirch-san?”

“How many times do I have to tell you,” Lal-san sighs out, and this time it’s easy to tell that she’s exasperated. “Call me Lal. Use my name, for heaven’s sake.”

“Mirch-san,” Hana-san blandly replies. It’s definitely intentional this time. Chrome doesn’t bother to hide her giggle, and only needs to roll over twice to avoid the shotgun blast that hits the space where her shoulder had been moments before.

* * *

Lal-san must have been waiting for Hana-san to ask her for a training session, because after the first one where they discuss Chrome’s name while trading blows, she keeps expecting Hana-san to show up. Chrome breathes harshly and drinks water slowly during the breaks when Lal-san is working with Hana-san instead, trying to knock down intrusive thoughts.

She is _not_ getting replaced. She is the Mist Guardian; Hana is the Cloud. They have two entirely different roles, and they are not interchangeable. Lal-san is working with both of them because she has things that she can teach, not because Hana-san is–

 _Hana-san had been first, she’s been here since nearly the beginning, she’s doing better in training than I am_ –

Something whistles in the air; Chrome ducks and reaches for her Mist, feeling it take shape beneath her hand. She’s at home sitting on the backyard veranda, there’s not supposed to be anyone else in the house, surely she would’ve heard anyone coming in–

The blade comes up to slice through the projectile aimed for her head, which turns out to be an apple.

Chrome blinks at the slices, just barely catching them in time before they hit the grass. “Eat,” Eri says blandly, and proceeds to stare at her from behind her glasses until Chrome takes an apple slice and bites into it a little too hard.

Eri just nods, as if Chrome hasn’t tried to commit rebellion by chomping into a piece of fruit like it’s done her wrong. “What’re you thinking so hard about?”

Chrome gives her a slight smile; the expression comes easily to her. “Nothing. I thought you had a meeting today?”

“I did. It’s been done for half an hour now.” Eri eyes her even as she sits down on the veranda, and Chrome just stops herself from leaning into her warmth, too shocked to realize that she’s lost an entire afternoon to her thoughts. “So what’s up, Chrome?”

She doesn’t want to talk about her insecurities – she’s supposed to be stronger than that, she’s supposed to be stronger than _this_. How is she supposed to fulfill the duties she’d volunteered for if she admits that she’s second guessing herself? So Chrome turns to the topic that readily presents itself without being of such a weak nature: “It came up the other day, but how did you and Keiko-san choose my name?”

Eri blinks at that, as if she hadn’t expected the question. “You mean the name Dokuro Chrome? In all honesty, Keiko suggested it. She didn’t give it much reason, though, other than the explanation she gave that day. Why the sudden question?”

That, at least, is something that she can answer truthfully. “Lal-san asked me if I was named after chromium.”

“The element?” Eri leans back, and now her face is thoughtful. Chrome would feel bad about the redirection into academia, something that she knows Eri enjoys, if she weren’t relieved at the successful distraction. “…yeah, I think that’s what Keiko was thinking of, but I can ask her if you want.”

 _That_ grabs at Chrome’s attention, and she immediately puts her hands up. “No, no, you don’t need to bother her for me,” she says, because it’s true; Keiko-san has given her a name, and a family, and a life. To ask for more than what she’s been given makes Chrome feel ill. “I was just – curious, is all.”

Eri is too smart to fool a second time. There’s a silence that Chrome fidgets in – she’s not often unsure in Eri’s presence, but sometimes it happens. Anxiety, Satomi had called it the time she’d confessed to her.

“Do you miss your old name?” Eri asks suddenly. She sounds weary and resigned, and she’s keeping her gaze to the backyard. Not looking in her direction.

Chrome bites down on the immediate answer, because being defensive won’t help here. Instead she lets herself think it over. “No,” she decides eventually, and her voice wavers a little bit – _why can’t I just_ goes through her head, before she stops that thought in order to breathe in and continue. “I like my new name.”

She doesn’t dare say _I like the life that you gave me_ , but Eri must hear it anyway because she dips her head with a small smile.

* * *

> _Dokuro_Chrome has joined the channel “the only sane ones”_
> 
> [20:49] Sunshine: FINALLY
> 
> [20:49] Sunshine: it took us forever, but welcome chrome!!
> 
> [20:50] Dokuro_Chrome: Is this… a group chat?
> 
> [20:51] Hana: Indeed
> 
> [20:51] Hana: This is the girls-only one, though, because we need /some/place that’s not filled with testosterone and the stink of prepubescent boys.
> 
> [20:52] Sunshine: yup yup!
> 
> [20:52] Sunshine: and this group chat lets us give people nicknames, so let’s see…
> 
> [20:53] Hana: I picked out Kyoko’s, because she’s literally the embodiment of sunshine: full of light, but also full of things that can kill you.
> 
> [20:53] Sunshine: and hana is hana because she won’t accept any other nickname :’D
> 
> [20:54] Hana: Because the ones you give me are always ridiculous!

It makes Chrome smile, notes for tomorrow and homework sitting abandoned on her desk as she clutches at her cell phone.

> [20:55] Sunshine: I got it!
> 
> _Dokuro_Chrome’s name has been changed to Chroma_
> 
> [20:55] Sunshine: there. :)
> 
> [20:56] Sunshine: chroma, after chroma key composition! i hate the class, but i gotta admit that photography is sometimes useful
> 
> [20:57] Hana: Let us know if you don’t like it, Chrome, and I’ll change it back.
> 
> [20:57] Hana: And Kyoko, don’t mess with it if Chrome says that she doesn’t like it!
> 
> [20:58] Sunshine: :(((

Chrome doesn’t want to. It’s perfect. It’s a nickname, something that she hadn’t had even as Nagi, and in that moment she’s thankful for the group chat. Not just for what it represents; but because at least this way, people aren’t staring at her for taking her time in choosing her words. In the end, she keeps the gratitude simple.

> [21:00] Chroma: I like it.
> 
> [21:00] Sunshine: :D

* * *

The fifth of May is Hibari-san’s birthday. Chrome already knows that it won’t be celebrated in the way they’d done Hana-san’s, or Eri’s, or even hers. The Disciplinary Committee Leader is a far more private person than that.

It means that Chrome is picking out presents in subdued colors, in far more traditional patterns than even she is strictly comfortable with. It feels like she’s gifting something that her – her mother had pressed into her hands, insisting that Chrome act like it’d been her idea, that–

“Breathe,” someone says. It sounds distant, a little foggy. Chrome obeys anyway, slowly sucking in a breath over a count of four, holding it for a count of six, breathing out for a count of eight.

A hand comes down on her shoulder, then moves to wrap an arm around her back. “Today’s May first,” the voice continues. “The boys are being idiots – when are they not? – but they’re marginally better today. Kyoko brought over yet another themed bento for lunch, but _really,_ I don’t know how she stands staring at ‘cute’ things all the time.”

“It’s a superpower,” Chrome tries. Her voice comes out steadily enough, and Hana might be warm but she’s still not sure where the line in the sand is. “I’m not having a panic attack, Hana-san.”

Hana squints at her. “From where I’m standing it looked like you were,” she replies. She doesn’t let go.

There’s something tightening beneath Chrome’s ribs, and it’s a different feeling from before. Warm, not strangling. “Thank you,” she says in lieu of anything better to say.

Evidently that’s enough; Hana nods and pats her on the back, once, before letting go. “We were just about to start eating lion-san’s head. It’s made of chocolate, for some reason. Kyoko wanted me to ask you if you wanted it.”

Chocolate is one of her favorite foods, but Chrome doesn’t want to seem too eager to accept it, so she settles for nodding silently. By the look that Hana gives her she’s not convincing enough, but at least she lets the topic go for something else.

* * *

Namimori is small, but Eri’s house – and Chrome’s house, technically, but she’s living here while Eri’s parents are overseas on ‘business’ and it’s hard to think of it as anything other than the Takei house – is neutral ground. It means that on the weekends Lal-san drills her in the small backyard, and that Keiko-san drops by for tea with Reborn-san on her shoulder and _Hibari_ -san drops by because Keiko-san and Reborn-san are here.

It means that on those weekends, it’s not uncommon for Chrome to be flopped in the grass after a training session, watching a still-pristine Lal-san bicker with Reborn-san while Keiko-san shares a pot of tea with Hibari-san. The two Arcobaleno look like they’re having a verbal tennis match, Hibari-san looks like he’s sleeping, and Keiko-san looks like she’s about to join him in a quick nap.

It’s a good day – the sky is that shade of blue just before sundown, there’s a nice wind going through the backyard, and though her limbs are sore the ache is a familiar one. It’s _been_ a good day.

Those had been rare, Before. Now, though–

There’s a swirl of _some_ thing in the air; it causes the hair to rise on the back of Chrome’s neck, and she reaches for the Mist without thinking about it. In the backyard, Reborn-san and Lal-san both go for guns. Hibari-san and Keiko-san both stay in their seats with their cups of tea, though Chrome doesn’t doubt that Hibari-san has his weapons close by already.

Mist swirls up from the ground to bellow outwards; a purple-haired boy her age appears out of it like they’re in a movie. “So you’re the infamous Dokuro Chrome,” he says, and there’s a cruel smile on his face and something unreadable in his eyes. “The imposter pretending to be a genuine Mist.” 

Eri’s made sure that she’s had all of the information she could ever want on this boy who would challenge her. “How are you finding living in a rundown amusement park?” she asks sweetly, borrowing the tone that Kyoko uses when she wants to stick a verbal knife somewhere deep. 

It works – Rokudo snarls and steps forward aggressively, only to be stopped when there’s a bright yellow explosion a mere centimeter from his foot. When the smoke clears in the slight wind, there’s a hole in the ground. “Why are you here?” Reborn-san demands, and the barrel of his Leon-gun is still smoking. 

“I think you know already.” Rokudo flicks a wrist and a trident falls into his hand, its points gleaming sharp. “Do you really think a little girl playing pretend will work as a Guardian?”

Chrome spins her Mist-constructed naginata with two hands, letting it slowly build up speed. She can’t do witty banter – not yet, though Satomi-san assures her it’s a matter of practice – but she can do this, while Hibari-san slowly rises with bared teeth and a reach for his own weapons.

Keiko-san just sets down her tea cup. “Chrome,” she calls, as if Rokudo isn’t there.

“I’d appreciate the help,” she manages to get out, before Rokudo lunges forward. There’s a cocking of a gun, quiet beneath the sudden clash, but still Chrome blocks with the steel body of her naginata and smiles serenely at Rokudo’s snarling face before she pushes him backwards.

Hibari-san is in front of her in the next moment, his tonfa flashing in the low light. Lal-san drops onto her shoulder, and out of the corner of her eye and past the red visor she can see the rather large gun that Lal-san is toting.

“What good is a Mist that can’t fight their own battles?” It’s a valid question, one that makes her swallow hard; Rokudo seems to sense it, his smile widening. It’s not dampened at all by the blows that Hibari-san is raining down on him.

“One that’s good at ambushing,” Reborn-san drawls out, and smirks when Rokudo’s attention splits to him. It’s just for a moment, but it’s an opening that Hibari-san takes ruthless advantage of, and Chrome ducks into the lee of his strike.

She ends up leveling the blade edge of her naginata to Rokudo’s throat, Lal-san on her shoulder pointing her gun between his eyes. Hibari-san hasn’t backed off, merely shaking off the last of the Mist from his steel tonfa and glaring at Rokudo with distaste. “You’re easily distracted,” Lal-san notes in the face of Rokudo fuming. “And you’re late. Tsunayoshi won’t accept a Mist like you being his Guardian.”

“Not even if I defeat his current one?” Rokudo asks, and in the blink of an eye he’s gone. The tense air doesn’t disappear; Chrome brings down her naginata to first position, trying to read the air–

 _There._ She spins her naginata even as she turns on her heel, knocking away the trident that’s tried to stab her in the back. Rokudo looks momentarily startled at being thwarted before he goes back to being angry.

“You can try,” Chrome says, remembering a quiet conversation from days past, and keeps smiling.

* * *

> [18:52] Chroma: Well, it happened.
> 
> [18:52] Sunshine: /what/ happened??
> 
> [18:53] Chroma: Hana, you were right. Rokudo was upset.
> 
> [18:53] Sunshine: THAT ****ING
> 
> [18:53] Sunshine: DO I NEED TO HURT HIM
> 
> [18:53] Hana: Called it
> 
> [18:54] Hana: Did you kick his ***, Chrome?
> 
> [18:54] Chroma: Reborn-san and Lal-san were there 
> 
> [18:54] Chroma: As was Hibari-san. 
> 
> [18:54] Chroma: Is the group chat censored? 
> 
> [18:55] Sunshine: AHAHAA 
> 
> [18:55] Sunshine: RIGHT I GUESS YOU KNOW NOW 
> 
> [18:55] Chroma: That Hibari-san holds a grudge against Rokudo? Yes. 
> 
> [18:55] Chroma: I’d call it hilarious if it wasn’t terrifying. 
> 
> [18:55] Hana: Oh no, it’s definitely hilarious. No love lost here. 
> 
> [18:56] Sunshine: don’t worry chrome rokudo deserves it 
> 
> [18:56] Hana: And it’s only censored because sometimes Ryohei-san looks over Kyoko’s shoulder at her phone and he’ll get Disappointed in us for cursing while being middle schoolers. 
> 
> [18:56] Hana: All joking aside, though, you’ll probably have to fight him at least a few more times. 
> 
> [18:57] Hana: You ready for it? 
> 
> [18:57] Chroma: Lal-san and Reborn-san will ensure I will be.
> 
> [18:57] Chroma: Oh, and Hana – I tried it, and it worked. The “You can try” line.
> 
> [18:57] Sunshine: yeessss
> 
> [18:58] Hana: Good. Let me know if you want to practice any more one liners, Chrome
> 
> [18:58] Sunshine: tell me he got pissed??
> 
> [18:58] Chroma: He did.
> 
> _Chrome has uploaded an image: IMG_0042.jpg_
> 
> [18:59] Hana: Amazing. 
> 
> [19:00] Sunshine: oh my god 
> 
> [19:00] Sunshine: i need to frame that. 
> 
> [19:00] Hana: Do you have any more pictures like these, Chrome? 
> 
> [19:01] Chroma: I have surveillance video of Rokudo antagonizing them and then failing horribly at fighting back 
> 
> [19:01] Sunshine: perfect, i’ll bring popcorn over tomorrow, we can make it a movie night 
> 
> [19:01] Hana: And what about our history project, Kyoko? 
> 
> [19:02] Hana: The one that’s a big portion of our grade? 
> 
> [19:02] Sunshine: we can do that over the weekend!! i want to see this guy getting beaten up!! 
> 
> [19:02] Sunshine: chrome please tell me that hibari-san smacks him in the face at least once 
> 
> [19:03] Chroma: Hibari-san does it four separate times before Rokudo flees. 
> 
> [19:03] Hana: I’ll bring over drinks. 


End file.
